Journal of Digital and Media Literacy

Audience: Academic, High SchoolISSN: 2326-1862Publisher: James L. Knight School of Communication at Queens University of Charlotte with support of the John S. and James L. Knight FoundationOpen access? YesPeer reviewed? Yes

An academic, peer-reviewed journal, the Journal of Digital and Media Literacypublishes research articles along with creative digital projects. Digital and media literacy is defined here as “the ability to access, share, analyze, create, reflect upon, and act with media and digital information.” The aim of the Journal of Digital and Media Literacy is to publish research written in accessible language to “democratize peer-reviewed scholarship” and to engage as broad an audience as possible: researchers, scholars, parents, librarians, educators, media practitioners, and civic leaders. The online environment also allows for comments to be added in response to the content.

Content in the journal is categorized as an article, essay, and/or video; sometimes it can be two types in one. The inaugural issue examines digital and media fluency and its connection to culture and community. It includes an article and video on “Youth Voices for Change: Building Political Efficacy and Civic Engagement through Digital Media Literacy” (an analysis of the New York non-profit Educational Video Center), along with an introductory essay and other articles (such as “Exploring Digital Citizenship in Charlotte: A City-Wide Experiment in Digital and Media Literacy”). In the essay, editor Alexis Carreiro highlights readability standards using the Flesch Reading Ease scale, a measure instituted to encourage more access to this journal: “the more people can read it, the bigger its impact.”

The journal is supplemented with Editor’s Choice Links that connect to diverse content, such as: “Gaming, Sexism and Online Communities” (a TedXWomen Talk video), “Datafication and Information Literacy,” and the Peeragogy Handbook, a 200+ page handbook that “seeks to further empower the worldwide population of self-motivated learners who use digital media — to connect with each other, to co-construct knowledge, to co-learn.”

There is something for nearly everyone here, in a variety of formats. Libraries serving academic and high school communities will find the Journal of Digital and Media Literacy informative and engaging for their users.